Just wondering, what about for socket 1155? There is no i7 extreme yet for that socket, but would you wait for 3rd Gen i7 Extreme?

They do not have Extreme version for the Mainstream (1155) platform, they only have those for the enthusiast (2011) one.

The real question here is related to cost. a 2600k overclocked to 4.8Ghz on an air cooler would yield a MASSIVE performance increase over your first generation quad core and would not cost you an arm and leg.

The reason why I recommended the 3930k initially is because you said you were considering it, among others, and it would yield the best performance for your uses. A 3930k would be twice as expensive than the other CPU's but is the best you can get as far as single CPU rendering. It's the top dog, you always pay a big price premium for the #1 performer.

What i recommend is find benchmarks that compare the 2600k and 3930k in rendering programs and ask yourself if the performance increase justifies twice the price. You call the shot.

The reason why I am not mentioning the 3770k is quite simple, really. The performance increase over Sandy Bridge is VERY small and as you overclock both, they have roughly the same performance because Sandy Bridge typically overclocks higher. The 3770k does have heat problems when overclocking. HOWEVER the Sandy Bridge with a z68 motherboard is cheaper... same performance for less dollars.

You could also wait and see how people here on OCN like their 3770k's as they do have better memory controller but from what I've seen they run uncomfortably hot when overclocking, unlike Sandy bridge. I'm not really a big fan of the 3770k but it's just my opinion, see what the actual owners have to say.Edited by Scorpion667 - 5/1/12 at 12:53pm

The benefit of the LGA2011 chips is quad channel memory is possible. That might be very useful in rendering/ editing applications. Still, the memory bandwidth is almost as good (and in some cases better) on dual channel LGA1155 chips.

Also, the name of the chip is XEON, not Xenon. Xenon is a noble gas, not an intel server/workstation processor.